The Hunting sUBJECT TO change
by Erikawolf
Summary: SSSSSOOOOOO covered in cheeze but interesting...
1. Chapter 1

**The Hunting **

CHAPTER ONE

It's tough to support a family of four. Especially since the Palace gives you no money, makes you pay high taxes and expects us to live. Our area is very poor and all the shops are very pricy. They have to make a living too. Our family owns a small hide shop. Our family consists of me, my sister Ivi, my other sister Erika and my mother. Our father left us alone because he couldn't afford us. After he left my mother broke down and in a sad state. She is always throwing fits and kicking and screaming like a child. So I am the adult now.

I have light hair and I am fare skinned that is tan from the long hours out in the sun. Most people look like this but my sisters are light skinned because I make them stay inside and help mother with cleaning, milking the one cow we own and feeding our two chickens and small pig. I bought them from an old farmer about to retire. He said if I could get him a whole deer I could have them all.

I feed us pay our taxes and make sure we keep a clean neat look. If I didn't they might not see my mother fit and we would have to live in a foster arena. That's where they overlook us and a few stay but mostly you must go to the Palace and work the rest of your life there. Ivi and Erika wouldn't last a minute so I go and hunt in the area around the city we live in.

I am short and skinny but before my father left he taught me a few things about hunting and fighting. Now I am more muscular and can take out most men. I can use a bow and arrow but I prefer a dagger to hunt and I prefer a sword for fighting. My kills bring nice money and keep us by barely because every year the taxes are raised. My hunting is illegal but our government over look me because I am the only huntress that can first find a bear then weaken it with arrow then finish it off with a dagger in the eye. I always shoot animals through the eye so it doesn't mark the pelt. The coats are beautiful and warm. I have caught nine in my life. We have one for a blanket. Our house is very small. We have one bed that's big enough for three so never sleep at night; instead I usually hunt and sleep until they sleep again after school. We have one room all together and a small television that we only use for the yearly Olympics that we were made watch as a boy and a girl from every town was forced to compete in whatever games the capital planned. They say it's to keep the peace and populations down. They are sometimes survival; one time it was archery where your partner was the target. The girls always got the worst part though. They were always the targets always the one to get the worst part.

These games were mean but I never worried. I had confidence I could win these games if I was picked and which I am never. My sisters always stayed away from the drawing. The thought of one of them with an apple on one of their little heads and a male archer about to shoot, not aiming for the apple scares me.

Tonight I was about to go out and hunt when a soft hand clasped mine. "May I go?" it was Erika. "No, you need sleep." I say. "Mother has me in bed by you every night by five and I become restless, please!" I weigh my options. "No" I say again. Erika has always been the smart one. "What if you are picked and never return" this was low. She must have really wanted to go. I covered my hurt with sympathy. "Okay but you have to watch and only do what I tell you" I say with motherliness. Erika was twelve and built like me. Her face brightened and she asked me all kinds of questions but I stopped her and went to talk to mother. Her face turned red when I told her the plan and she went into a fit and screamed the word "no" again and again. My sisters immediately go to work boiling tea leaves and then putting it in one of our small tea cups and put it to her lips. That always calmed her. We bathed her then put her in fresh bed clothes then laid her in bed. We shifted our rough canvas sheets on her and then Ivi pouted she couldn't go but we waited until she had bathed and drank the rest of the tea to tuck her into bed before we went to my little fort where I kept my belongings. I showed her my smallest pair of boots. I had grown out of a lot of them but I kept them all. I already had mine on and my hood so I also gave her my old leather jacket that was a bit big but she loved it. I zipped it up then wrapped a leather strip around her so it would be a bit snugger. She was fascinated and kept re-lacing her boots with the thread bare strips of cotton and tightened the leather strip again before she saw fit. I smiled and put a cap on her head so her hair wouldn't get in her face. She had a smile that seemed to light the world up. I gather my things and place them neatly in my pack and give Erika a small knife holder with a clasp to close the top. She looks at me gratefully and she stuffs the little carving knife I gave her that needed to be sharpened badly. I looked at the sharpening stone that had one sharpening left. I looked at my knife then grabbed the small stone and use the last bits on my knife then tucked it in my knife holder which was fairly new then signaled it was time to go.

I had her walk around the tree in our yard and spent a little time teaching her to be lighter on her toes. She mastered it quickly then smiled brightly. I put my bow and arrows over my shoulder then notice Erika's shirt tail hanging out so I gently tuck it in.

Were not like the other families. We all love each other enough not to fight over possessions and share everything.

I carefully duck under the guard's watch. It wasn't the usual so I was careful and whisper to Erika to do the same. Once were out I follow my usual path down to the creek and remove my garments now naked and float in the water. Erika just stared at me then her gaze settled behind me then she pointed with a shaky hand behind her. In the water carefully sipping was a big goose. I laughed and quickly went over to it and the goose quaked then splashed in with me. "Oh he's no harm!" I say while rubbing his chin. "Kind of a pet actually" I say lowering my voice because I must still be careful. She thoughtfully looked at the goose and decided he was safe. "So what do I do" she asks. "You can strip and bathe now or just wait." I say. Then add "it helps me cool off before the hunt" Not wanting to miss out she too unclothes and slips in. "It's perfect!" she drifts next to me and the goose. "Have you named him?" she asks. "No, but you can." She smiles and thinks on the matter. She looks the goose over than says. "Rill, because it rhymes with bill, like the one on his head" I agreed. Rill seemed to like his name and often quacked at it happily.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"Come on lets hunt." I say as I pull myself to shore. That's when Rill goes crazy quacking. "Rill calm down" says my sister, but he won't. I ignore him and pull myself to the beach to see a Man staring at me. He is much older and he looks like he needs to be fed. Like the rest of us. He looks familiar though I can't quite say why. I cover my chest and duck. He chuckles and turns around, but doesn't leave. I grab my hunter's clothes and pull them on keeping a close eye on the man. I signal for Erika to go across the stream. When she goes she waves. I shoot an arrow with her clothes across and she ducks behind a bush to change.

"What are you here for?" I ask dryly. "Well, well, well" he says. "Leave!" I hiss. He takes a step further. Then another until he is less than a foot away from me. "What are you here for?" I ask. "Isn't it obvious?" Then it hits me he was in the newspaper. He steals little girls and makes the parents pay money to get them back. I remember the name. "Gummer Banis" I whisper. He chuckles. I already have my knife out and ready when he lunges and I twist him into a headlock with my knife at his throat. I feel Erika watching and can't bring myself to kill him in front of her so I keep the knife at his throat while I tie him up. I snarl in his ear. "Move and die" he is only grinning when I look down. He has his own knife pressed against my chest. I lift mine away. Stupid because he stabs me right in the stomach and I scream. I fall to the ground bleeding to death but manage to choke "Run!" Erika gets it and I hear a faint rustle but the man hasn't. I am coughing up blood and the man kicks me in the water. "Fool" I scream. He takes no notice but scans the forest. He spots the bush Erika was in and heads in that direction.

Not wanting to die this way I scoop mud and desperately try to stop the blood flow, but it's not enough. I scoop drier mud into it. It finally stops and I sigh. "I'll be alive but with infection" I think. I wait for the mud to fully clog it and slowly slide into the water and clean the wound. I search my pack and find long rags and tie it around me. I slowly walk the way Erika and the man went. I follow and see Erika took a different path. I guess she wanted to lead him away from the house so, I follow too. I start to wonder what happened to her. Then I hear gruff muttering then someone was coming. I looked at the tree but saw better cover under a holly bush. I waited for him and saw him turn with an empty sack dragging behind him. "She's safe" I say aloud and he whips around. "I thought that wound would have killed you, but I was wrong!" I ducked in time and a carving knife sticks itself in the tree behind me.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

I know not to turn around that he could shoot and I wouldn't see it coming but I also know that is the knife I gave to my sister. "No!" Now enraged I scream with my sword held high and topple into him leaving a huge gash on his torso from the top of his chest to the bottom of his stomach. While he's on the ground I scream at him. "Where is she?" His face is turning a bright red but he manages to laugh, spurting blood from his mouth. He died slowly I'm guessing because I couldn't stay to watch. I head toward the direction he came from and follow his footprints in the layer of soft moss. "Up here Aria!" I hear that familiar voice. I turn around and she is on a high branch holding a long branch that has a makeshift point. "Oh you're okay!" She smiles and climbs down and embraces each other for awhile.

"Can we still hunt?" Erika asks. "I don't know that man gave me enough for tonight." I say. "What about food!" I sigh she's right. We go to a tree and I climb up to spot an injured deer limping alone. I look at the arrows and frown. I forgot ten at home. I string one and shoot him in the good back leg and the male falls. I hurry down and charge at it to get a good shot in his eye. I never reach there because some idiot crashed into me while I was running. He had brown hair and brown eyes. I stopped and shoved him to the ground. "That's my kill!" he got up and started to shout something then calmed down. "I am Nemo and that deer was mine first." He sat there and I rolled my eyes and he quickly shouted more stuff in the air. "Are you crazy that deer was mine! My arrow my kill!" He looked at me and growled. "Fine if you want it, fight me, you coward!" I could tell he thought this girl was weak. Then he rethought. "No weapons" he said. "Alright" He took some kind of position and said. "Ready" He started yelling again and I muted it out. I sensed he was talking to some kind of god or something but since I didn't care I charged and rammed him into a tree. He squeezed one of my pressure points and I almost slipped but then I pulled out and tripped him flat on his back. I body slammed him into the ground then pinned him down. "Done?" I ask. He tried to spit but gravity pulled it down and he was covered in his spit when I got off and went to retrieve my deer. "How did you defeat me?" says Nemo. "Easy you were weak" He was frowning when I turned around.

Erika and I put everything in our packs and set off to gather some berries for breakfast. "Who do you think he is?" asks Erika. "I don't know, he was yelling like a maniac and went for my pressure points." Erika just hummed along the way. Just before we entered the house I told her not to say anything to mom. She nods and we step in. Mother is up on her bed staring at the door. "My kids!" she says brightly. "Mom we have food!" says Erika. "That's right we caught a deer and gathered some berries!" I say enthusiastically hoping mom won't catch the edge in my voice. I'm a horrible liar though. She notices and freaks out. We calm her again with tea and lay her in bed.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

"I wish she would calm" I say. Erika nodded. I looked outside and calculated the time. "It's…early so you should sleep" I say to her. She slips her boots off then gets in the covers and is soon fast asleep. I sip the last of the tea and soon fall asleep on the floor. I dream of the man and of the other person that was constantly shouting stuff. I wake to find my sister prodding me to wake up. I acknowledged I was up and rubbed my eyes, washed my face, and dressed in a dress that was old but would serve its purpose. Ivi sniffed. "We should have better clothes!" I shoot a look at her saying sorry we can't and don't mention it to mom! She frowns but stops. When we step outside we realize how cold it is. We all go back inside and get last year's coats which are too small. We walk to school and the first thing I notice are the posters. They are made of thick canvas and heavily decorated. I squint at the words. It said there was to be a ball in December. It also said if you attend you have to have a date. I laugh to myself and push it out of my head.

I go through my classes warily. A group of girls are staring at me and speaking in hushed whispers. The teacher cuts them off and class resumes. I'm not paying attention though. It's hard to in arithmetic.

After classes, I run home as fast as I can because I know what I will get for the family for Christmas. A cat. They are all over the place walking around. If I could get one ahead of time and train it a little the girls would love it and it would keep mother from well being mother.

I arrive home and help serve dinner. We ate a stew from onions, carrots and chunks of one of our rabbits. Everyone was full by the time the darkness settled. I told everyone I wanted to hunt for the winter and left before anyone could ask to go. I took off the light dress made of cheap cotton and put my favorite wool shirt and special pants they were made from cotton too but a very thick kind. I had gotten it from the clothing store in our area. I had given him several rabbits and squirrels for it. I laced my boots up and grabbed my bow and arrow. It was too cold to use a sword. I went in the forest and picked a tree that was low but still had plenty of leaves. I caught a few rabbits and one little fish by the time the sun was coming up. I was starting to head home when I heard loud snarling and howls close. I was surrounded by undergrowth so I strung an arrow and headed that way. Maybe wolf meat wasn't so bad. As I came in the clearing there was Ivi and Erika surrounded by not just regular wolves, I'm talking 300 pound muscle wolves that are huge. This must be a small pack because only three are here. I start trying to take at least one wolf down but my arrows don't seem to affect the huge wolf. I look at them desperately. Erika is holding the badly sharpened knife in her hands and Ivi is curled in a ball on the floor. She's crying. The cry is making her hair wet and the ground muddy. She's sobbing "I don't want to die" over and over. Then I hear another noise. At first I think it is more wolves then I recognize the voice. It's Nemo's. "Well he can have this kill" I think. He comes through the tree's wielding a magnificent white sword. It cuts through the wolves flesh like butter and the last wolf desperately hooks his claw in Ivi and tries to eat her. Nemo is there first and the wolf is dead. I run to Ivi. She is bleeding so much. I rip my thick pants not caring the cost trying to stop the bleeding. Her breathing slowly stops and she dies in my hands. I bury my head in her still warm body sobbing. "I'm…sorry" Nemo says. I don't stop sobbing. She can't be dead, she can't. I sit there and cry until my eyes are so swollen the flow of tears are gone. I look over to Erika to make sure she is alive. Her eyes are puffy and swollen too. Nemo pats my back and repeats sorry. I sniff then close her panic stricken eyes. "You can have the wolves" I say. "Take one "he says. "Some animal will have gotten it before I could get it anyway." I sniff again. "Okay" even though I didn't feel like it.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

I secure the ropes around the huge wolf. Erika helps me but I shrug her off. I'm mad at her. I know Ivi would never have come alone. It's her fault. I can't hate her though. I decide to cut out as much mead as I can from the wolf. He is too heavy to carry. I fill my bag with I'm certain a third of this animal. Erika offers to pull it and I just drop it and go back to get Ivi. She is still hidden in the holly bush I put her in. She is cold but no animal has touched her pretty face. She only looks like she's sleeping. I see an ivy vine and make a crown of the delicate vine. I carry her where Erika is trudging along with about 100 pounds when she's only about 80 pounds. "Good she'll get some muscles" I think. I notice my bare feet and wonder how I lost my shoes. It helps get my mind off the fact I'll never see Ivi again, see her smile, or hear her high pitched laugh that was as rare as cookies. My anger at Erika is gone. When we get to the fence I sneak past the guard, set Ivi down then go and retrieve the bag of wolf. Erika takes the bag with hard determination. I pick up Ivi and we head toward our house. I think of a way to tell mother and decide to tell the truth. To the community I don't know yet. Since they won't see the wound I could say she died from disease and we tried to keep her, no that wouldn't work. I got it she choked. Many people died that way here from the too big bites when they get a parcel to eat. I've seen it too, one day a girl at our lunch table ate an apple and choked to death on it. Men came in removed her and put her in a foam box to be shipped to the Palace to study. That's another thing; you can sign up for an extra 20 coins a month if you signed up to and be studied when you die. It's weird how they had men posted that day and happened to know she was a lab item that was about to die. I have been thinking so hard I barely notice were stepping in the door. My mother looked up and saw Ivi. "Aw she's sleeping, I wondered where she went!" She was better. Now she would fall in that deep depression again, because of those stupid wolves. "No, mother she's dead." I'm surprised because they weren't my words but Erika's. I look at her then mother. Mother's eyes are no longer filled with happiness but with a renewed pain. She gently sat down and fell into a deep stupor.

I cleaned Ivi's cut put her in one of her pretty dresses, and kept her ivy crown. I gently place her in a pre-ordered casket. Were required to buy them before the death and bury them ourselves. I rearrange her hands and brush her curly hair where it fans out. By the time I'm done she looks so peaceful I want to cry all over again. I slowly cover her with the pine casket cover. I notice a few cracks in the wood and board them up with scratch wood. I didn't want anything getting in there until she's bones and the wood disintegrated. I carry the casket out to our backyard and start digging. Every scoop more painful than the last. Slowly the hole gets deeper and finally I lower her in and start to cover her up.

I go inside to find mother smiling and Erika goofing off. "Do you two have any respect!" I snap. Mother is still giggling when Erika comes to me. "She was threatening to kill herself so I tried to make her happy!" She said in a matter-of-factly tone. "Oh" I said.

The wolf turns out to be delicious with turnip and carrots. I had cooked it and Erika had cooked the carrots and turnips. Mother had been mimicking what Erika was doing. We said grace and ate. After we all bathed and went to bed, because one spot was open.

My dreams were scary all I could dream was how Ivi died and that man and Nemo. Nemo had risked his life for my little sisters why? You don't just take out three 300 pound wolves for fun. I let the topic go.

When I woke up the sun was bright and I was the last one up. I carefully took in the area. The house was sparkling clean and a cinnamon scent was in the air. Erika was scrubbing our kitchen floor with soap that had crushed cinnamon in it. Mother was singing. One thing missing, Ivi. I had to suck my emotions back up, because I didn't want to cry. I got dressed in my plain yellow dress. The main reason we had mostly dresses were because they were cheaper and pants took more time to make. I pinned my hair up and slipped my only nice shoes on and said "I'm going to town, to tell everyone what happened and open shop " Erika nods then says "What are you going to say?" I smile the reply "That she choked on an apple" than I left, not wanting comment.

In town everyone was busy, the shoe makers measuring people's feet, the baker shouting at some kids trying to steal, and the mayor was out handing bills to people. I had already paid ours so I didn't care. I went over to our shop which was closed most the time and opened it. People pooled in to make sure they got what they wanted before I closed again. I told everyone what had happened and they all sighed for me and filled our tip jar. I stayed open as long as someone was there to bring in money. We had made a large amount off of my rabbit fur, deer hides, squirrel furs and mountain lion fur. I think about going out to hunt for more fur and meat but then remembered about Ivi. I quickly closed and stepped out into the cold air letting the wind tussle my hair. It was very nice outside. I decided to take the long way home to feel the air all around town. By the time I got home it was dark and the moon is out. The door to our house was open so I peered in to see the house a wreck and my mother in a chair crying.

Erika was nowhere to be found. "Mother!" I cried. She turned around and a huge bloody gash was on her face. "He…to-ok he-r" she barely made out. I closed our door and fixed the hinges and the lock which was badly busted. I went to make tea for her. While it simmered I warmed up a rag and cleaned her face and kept the warm rag on her face. I swept the floor and served her the tea. When she had calmed down I tried to talk to her. "Who came?" I ask. "A man…with a white sword."


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

I gasped. "Are you sure!" She looked at me. "Anyone could have seen it from a mile away" I frowned but I still bathed her and put her to bed. I knew what I had to do. I too bathed, put on my simple rose colored dress, braided my hair then went to my fort. I grabbed all of my arrows and put them in sheath along with my bow. I used my simple sword with a rose handle and two daggers that had the same rose color on them. My father had given them to me as a goodbye gift. I laced my black boots on then went to my friend Neptune's house. I asked her to watch my mother because I was going out of town then left.

The mist in the woods was thick and clung to your skin. My pale rose dress was wet by the time I reached the area where I had first met Nemo. I saw his white sword by a tree and crept over to it with my sword held high. Nemo was on a log eating a deer leg when he saw me. "Oh hello!" He raised a deer leg at me. I lifted his white sword and saw the blood on it. "How did that get there?" I say controlling my anger. "This deer" he said. "Where is my sister" I say calmly. "I don't know" I can't control my anger. "You took her!" he frowned. "No I didn't" I pull my sword to his neck. "Whoa, whoa, whoa woman!" he said. "Where is she?" He tried to push me away but I kicked him in the gut. He fell to his knees. "I don't have her anymore" he said. "Where is she?" He coughed. "I don't know" I kicked him. "You know good and well!" I shouted. He stood up. "Look I was hired and…well… I had no choice." He turned around and grabbed his sword. "You are going to take me to her" I say. "No I'm not" He started off into the forest. I waited then followed him. I followed for awhile then tripped on a long tree branch. I got up to inspect what kind of bruise I was going to have when I saw the branch had scales. I rubbed it then it twitched. I jumped back startled. I followed the tail carefully and saw a huge male dragon. He peered at me, and clearly thought I was no threat so he just kept on watching me. Unsure I tried to back away but his tail slapped behind me. There was a low voice. "Stay" I looked around then realized it was in my head. "Um…I need to go" I said aloud. I heard the slap closer. "Or I can stay" I say. "Where are you going?" he says. His tail is coiling around me, I think about chopping my way out then I remember the fire. "Someone has stolen my sister" I say. He takes awhile to answer. "I will help" I frown. "I can't let you" I say. "I'm going" he says then slaps the ground. "Okay, okay calm down" He stopped then said "get on my back we will go" "no, no" I say then explain the whole situation. "We shall follow him then" I got on his back and noticed the hard scales might hurt my legs so I sit on my backpack. We spot Nemo running frantically, crashing into trees and he looks like a bloody mess. He finally stopped to rest and so did we. The dragon went to hunt while I hunted myself. I considered running from the dragon but thought "He'd only come and find me so what's the use." I made my way back to the clearing and make a pit to cook the rabbit I caught. The dragon comes back and waits while I eat. After I finished I buried the rest then climbed on his back. We noticed Nemo had moved ahead so we followed him north. I noticed he was going to the Palace. "So he's a spy" I say. The dragon nodded. "Do want to get to him before he gets there?" I ask. "You are the brains of this plan, I am only transportation." He replies. "Okay, if he gets there he may tell them I'm after my sister and they could kill her" I say.

The dragon is silent. "Why don't you rest" he says. "Okay, I guess It won't do any harm" I say. Then I lie down. I drift off into a dreamless sleep with the help of the dragon's wings beating rhythmically.

When I wake it is sunrise and the sky has a pink hue. There are wispy clouds about too but in the distance I can see the smoke of a Palace bonfire. They usually do this in celebration of a death. They smoke is a code and I barely make out. "Nelly Smitherson" I whisper. She had been in one of the games. The only reason she had won was because she found an old house in the survival arena that had arrow proof walls and everything and she had cowered inside. I hadn't liked her much but this was touching. I never expected her to die. I shook it out of my head now searching the ground for Nemo. I saw him by the gate, talking to the guard then was let in. "How do you suppose I get in?" I ask. "The walls are high but if you fake a prisoner you could get through." I gasp. "What a wonderful idea!" We landed nearby and I leapt off. "Where can I find you after?" I say. "Where you first found me" he said. "Okay, can I leave all of my things except a dagger with you?" he looked into my eyes. "Only if you promise to come and get them" he said. "Agreed" I say. I eat the rest of my meat cold and head off to the entrance of the gate acting sneaky. I'm caught off course and I'm carried through the streets. "Can't get past us Miss Aria" the guard mumbles. "Where are you taking me?" I demand. "Oh straight to the king." He says with a smirk. "What will happen to me?" I ask actually scared. "I hope a public display!" he sneers. "Stop asking questions!" he then adds.

We enter the Palace and it is grand. Everything is made of marble and the servants are dressed in silk. They even look better fed than my community. The guard is dragging me to an older part of the Palace where the carvings are more elaborate and the statues finer. I want to reach out and feel the work but know better. We finally reach a room with two beds in silky sheets and barred windows. Erika is on one bed, dressed in a tight tan dress and her hair is done up into a pretty bun. Her hand is cuffed to the side of the bed and her free hand is holding a book. She is safe, I think, safe. The guard gives me to another guard and the whisper a few things. All I catch is "Had to bring her myself because…" then their voices got lower. The new guard then ties my hands and sends me to the wash room where the servants wash all the grime off and put me in a similar dress except this one has a red ribbon around the waist. My hair they brush then braid into an elaborate bun. I am then hand-cuffed to the bed beside my sister. She doesn't turn around but I can see her crying quietly. The guard said time for bed and turned the oil lamp out and shut the curtains. The sun was still out but I didn't mind because I was exhausted.

The next morning I was awakened by the guard. He said that the King wanted to see me. The servants prepared me with a frilly pink dress and put bows in my hair. I didn't object though for my sister's sake. I was led to his personal chambers then left to walk in alone. I entered cautiously and saw he was in all kinds of robes and jewels and Nemo was there too.

Nemo had his eyes lowered avoiding all eye contact. The king spoke in a raspy voice "Hello, Aria" I grumble a hello back. "You know your little sister is quite something you know?" I breathed in slowly then said "Yes and really smart" He smiled. "Yes she is, so I've decided I want her as a wife."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

I wanted to run over there and kill Nemo right about now. "Yes sir" was all I could manage out. "You on the other hand are a problem" he said. "What did I do wrong" I say. "You nothing but your father is a main source of riot" I'm struck. "My father?" I ask. "Yes, I'm afraid so" he said. "Why am I here then?" I say shooting a look at Nemo. "You see, to show the whole 500 areas we need business, we must provide an example." I gulped. "Is that me?" "Not yet, your father shall be here any minute and we shall kill you in front of him then lock him up, to make an example, and then arrange an "accident" later." I blinked. "Nemo here will be doing the honors" he said smiling at him. Nemo's head lowered even more. "You will even have a ceremony and a feast!" the king said proudly. "I'm sure you will" I say. I flatten my dress and stare at Nemo. "That traitor" I think. Now I know never to trust anyone but my little sister. Then I thought about the king wanting to wed my little sister.

A servant with blond hair and wearing one of the silk dresses the other maids had on came and put a tray of tea on the table. She was chewing some type of food that didn't go down her throat. The king smiled. "Yes a new invention called Gum" he said then sipped his tea. His face turned red and he spit the tea out. "What was in this!" he yelled. Her eyes widened with a guilty look on her face. "Nemo, kill her!" Nemo whipped around and plunged his white sword in her chest. She let out a blood curling scream then writhed in pain for a few moments then was dead. He called more servants in to clean the body and get better tea, and a tester. The door opened a crack and a young woman about my age stepped in. I gasped, she was so amazingly beautiful. She had straight brown hair, brown eyes, and a bright pink dress on. Her fingers were bare except for one finger which had a huge diamond that matched her necklace and earrings. "Father, where is my personal tea maker" Her father frowned. "She was removed" Nemo looked up from cleaning his sword. The princess rolled her eyes. "Hire one immediately, and give her the instructions" her father nodded. "Maybe you should go and…watch a tournament, sweetie." He said and she took that as a dismissal and left. The King and Nemo whispered something then a guard came in and said "He is here" and leaves. They immediately summon for me to be dressed and my hair done. I'm rushed to a bathroom, scrubbed, clothed, and my hair done in another elaborate bun. My hands are let free and two guards are shoving me into the town square. There was a man in the center with my green eyes and dirty blond hair.


End file.
